Australia’s national day is not without controversy.
Situated since 1994 on 26 January when European settlement of Australia began, displacing an indigenous people who had been on the continent for 60,000 years, the day is increasingly seen as marking invasion rather than a celebration of nationhood, with calling to #changethedate echoing ever more loudly, and rightly so, across the national discourse.
One thing that is agreed by most people is that Australia is home to an impressive array of musical talent with the five artists featured in this post all reflecting the multicultural face of a nation that has drawn people from every part of the world.
As you listen to these songs, you gain an appreciation for the richness and diversity of a nation which while it may not agree on many things, has benefited from the many voices, particularly the musical ones, raised up throughout its history and especially in the musically-fecund present.
“20 and SOMETHIN” by KAIIT
Papua New Guinea-born Melbournian KAIIT has a voice that’s smooth, exquisitely-emotive and chilled in the kind of way that suggests quiet chats on the deck of a beachside holiday let, wine and cheese in hand, as dusk slips languidly into night.
It is that immersively beautiful and expressive.
Equipped with a background in fashion and beauty, the artist’s visual palette is every bit as rich and involving as her music, which, as Triple J Unearthed points is a new but vibrant addition to KAIIT’s impressive repertoire of creative endeavours.
“Her pursuit into music is recent, becoming involved in the Arts Centre Melbourne’s flagship hip-hop and urban music mentoring program Dig Deep where she met mentor Momo from Diafrix and began to learn more about the industry.”
This meeting has given rise to songs as gloriously-laidback as “2000 n SOMETHIN” which slides along with unhurried grace and elegance and a luscious sense of life being explored in the most soulful and thoughtful of ways.
“Late Nights” by Carmouflage Rose
Talking about kicking it back at night, Zimbabwe-born and Brisbane-resident Carmouflag Rose’s song “Late Night” is the perfect soundtrack for those outings that take place when dusk-into-darkness is a far off memory.
Redolent with atmospheric vocals and a loping, beat-strewn melody, the song, in the words of Triple J Unearthed, “is filled with a tropical atmosphere and the signature dance-hall/reggae aesthetic that Carmouflage Rose so eloquently brings with his unique vocals.”
It is insistently catchy, a song that never builds a massive momentum, preferring to keep it chilled but intense, a love song to the world that exists when most people are tucked up into bed.
“Late Nights is the anthem for the house parties we all know and love, the beat that gets ya girl movin’ on the dance floor.”
There’s a breathy beauty to “Late Nights”, which was one of Triple J’s 30 most-played songs in 2017.
“S.M.F.Y.” by Eilish Gilligan
It’s damn near impossible to disagree with Pile Rats who rather fittingly introduced our third Australia Day artist this way:
“There’s something remarkably special about Melbourne’s Eilish Gilligan.”
They’re not wrong with the gorgeously upbeat track, “S.M.F.Y”, anchored by Gilligan’s emotionally-evocative vocals and a breathlessly rich melody which resolutely and appealing powers on and on, building and building as it goes, proof positive that the singer-songwriter-producer from Melbourne is something a substantial cut above the ordinary.
“S.M.F.Y.” manages to be both radio-friendly and yet distinctively unique at the same time, with the song, described by Pile Rats as one “which captivate you before the first chorus has a chance to win you over”, exhibit A for the fact that you can make your mark without selling out your artistic soul.
“Beautiful Killer” by Samsaruh
Staying in the southern capital of style Melbourne, we meet up with Samsaruh who has crafted one of those goosebump-inducing pieces of pop so atmospherically-perfect that it feels like all of life is bundled up in its captivating four minutes of chillingly-broody, melodically-rich pop.
“Beautiful Killer”, co-created with Nightflare and mixed by Tony Buchan, has been fulsomely described by Purple Sneakers thus:
“[The] track combines a heavier, rock-ish sound with a myriad of electronic elements and effects, creating a fascinating sonic balance you want to head-bang and dance to at the same time. ‘Beautiful Killer’ dials that particular dial up to eleven right off the bat with some snappy, almost gunshot-like drums and sinister electric guitar, with some syncopated cowbells thrown in for good, funky measure.
It is like immersing yourself in the darkest and yet most beautiful of places, where a mystic emotive state overtakes you, taking you to the kind of creatively offbeat place that most pop forgets to go but should go to more often.
“Savage” by Jesswar
Hailing from Brisbane by way of a childhood spent on the Gold Coast, and described by Noisey, as one “the staunch women of the Brisbane scene”, Fijian-born Jesswar doesn’t mince words.
“Savage” is a no-holds barred track that, Noisey again, “plays with a resolve and toughness … [that] spits some mean and upfront bars”.
And that was, according to her interview with Noisey, quite intentional for an artists not afraid to make a statement.
“I wasn’t trying to be subtle. I believe the lyrics are exactly that, savage. Being Fijian my people were portrayed as ‘savages’ so using that term was definitely thought out in reclaiming that terminology and more like a war call. I feel confident that I’ve been working hard a for a long time so I wanted to come out with the ferocious nature that has helped me get to this point. Using the word cunt is important to, this is another word I’m reclaiming and embracing. This industry is brutal as a woman so being resilient and tougher than the next dude is necessary to succeed. So yeah it’s provocative as it was intended.”